The invention relates to a system for producing a solid product from a powdery material.
More specifically, it relates to the production of tablets, compressed tablets and other doses more particularly intended for pharmaceutical and chemical uses.
Traditionally, the production of such solid products involves compression of the powdery raw material in a die, this compression being obtained by means of punches that slide into said die, especially an upper punch and a lower punch.
Each of these two punches is therefore powered, for example by means of a connecting rod/crankshaft system that makes it possible to vary the height of translation of said punches.
However, the use of such a system to drive the punches has certain disadvantages which include the significant inherent inertia of the system used.
At the same time, there are also reliability problems in terms of the cohesion of the resulting solid product to the extent that cracking or lack of cohesion of the product is frequently observed resulting in return to its powdery form.
The invention also aims to provide a system capable of simulating all types of machines capable of producing or manufacturing such solid products from a powdery material in order, in particular, to resolve the production problems resulting from operating modes, the particle size of said powdery material, the conditions under which the solid products are produced (humidity, temperature, etc.).
In fact, this problem associated with developing the process for manufacturing said solid products and especially the conditions under which the system intended to produce them is used is crucial, in particular as a cost driver.
This has proved especially true in the pharmaceutical industry where. the cost of the active principle in the composition of the medication is extremely high and, consequently, any lost production due to lack of cohesion of the end product entails huge losses for the manufacturer or laboratory.
The need to produce a system for reliable testing of machines used to produce such solid products is therefore most urgent.
To achieve this, a device intended to achieve the desired objective has been proposed, for example in document FR-A-2,791,602. This device, illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises means of driving the upper and lower punch respectively consisting of a first and second means of transmission kinematically interposed between the motor means and said first and second punches, this means of transmission including a first and a second cam respectively.
This arrangement eliminates sinusoidal movement of the punches associated with the prior art by linear movement which improves the compression phase.
In fact, it is possible to keep the compacted powdery material under pressure and this makes it possible to expel air from it therefore reducing, to a large extent, the risk of bursting and at least disintegration of the solid product thus formed.
In addition, the use of cams makes it possible to easily modify the cycle rate of the punches depending on the nature of the powdery products used and the conditions under which they are produced, therefore enhancing the adaptability of the device.